2200 days of Brad Edwards

[gmutd127]

Surely, you don't believe that La Salle has better facilities than Mason?

I have not seen them, have you? Either way, I have seen ours and I believe what i have been told by people that have seen every facility in the A-10. But if you want to argue pointless semantics feel free. Does it matter if were last or second to last behind Lasalle? Is there a big gap there?

 

[gmujim92]

I have not seen them, have you? Either way, I have seen ours and I believe what i have been told by people that have seen every facility in the A-10. But if you want to argue pointless semantics feel free. Does it matter if were last or second to last behind Lasalle? Is there a big gap there?

Our facilities are better than LaSalle's and Fordham's, but yes your point is definitely well taken.

The bottom line is, if we want to have a successful program in one of the best basketball conferences in America, we need more donations and less chit-chat about "expectations."

Right now, our coaches are fighting with one hand tied behind their backs.

 

[gmubrian]

So what exactly are the things that you need to see changed from the last administration? I see almost zero similarities between the last several years of TOC and Alan Merten's reign and the first few of Brad's so I am wondering why I may be on an island here. Am i missing something? In your opinion, what fronts NEED progress that you aren't seeing progress on?

This just doesn't add up to me. My guess, based on your 3 bullet points is that there is more to the story because there is no chance Brad and the the patriot club would just ignore a potential donation of that magnitude if it was legit.

1. If there is a personal problem between you and the administration, and you do not want to be contacted any longer, have you asked them not to contact you?

2. I can guarantee you the staff is not incompetent. With regards to your request for a plan of what is happening, have you attempted to attend any of the many fundraising events the admin/patriot club has done over the last 6 months? If so, you would know of the plan, the time frame and would have even seen the renderings of what the locker room and facility updates will look like.

3. This sounds like a personal vendetta for some reason or another.

Curious to know, if your willing to share, how they have pissed you off 10-20 times? If not, i understand but I just cant buy that they have blatantly ignored you.

Even though you are making your first ever post today, and I find your line of questioning a little under informed, I'll play along. You seemed to have misread a large portion of what I wrote. I did not say that I requested they stop reaching out to me. It was in the context of one of three possible conclusions I can come to based on my experience. One conclusion I could have come to is that they don't want my support. I was arguing against that by pointing out that they reach back out on occasion (long after they have dropped the ball on the previous time they reached out). I honestly don't know where the issue is. I consider many of the people in the department my friends (that I only speak to occasionally). That is what makes my experience all the more perplexing to me.

I have been writing about things that have transpired over years, so, no I have not attended any events in the last 6 months because that is after this had all transpired and I had already withdrawn from participating in anything related to Mason. That makes the fact that he did not reach out to me, after I was told he would, all the more weird. It is moot at this point, though.

If had a vendetta for someone in particular, I would have named individual names in the department other than just Brad. I don't know Brad and have only met him for a total of about 5 seconds at a baseball picnic so I don't know him enough to hold a vendetta against him, but, I do hold him accountable for the actions/lack of actions of the department as a whole, especially if there are repeated issues.

If you want the history, you can read much of it by going through my posts on here and previous incarnations of the site over the last 15 years or so. I don't mention any names other than at the top level, so some incidents that are with specific individuals might be left out, but you should get the gist.

I am assuming you are relatively new on here based on the content of your reply, so, to give you some quick background on myself. I have a pretty long history with the program, many on here have been much longer, but, mine relatively long. There was an 11 year stretch in which I was, arguably, the most rabid Mason fan, not missing a single home game or post season game in that stretch. I even went to about half of the road games during that stretch as well. I was also one of the most vocal supporters of just about anything Mason, to the point that man on here referred to me as Kool-Aid drinker.

Things went south when no one in the AD would admit there was a problem with Hewitt towards the end of his 3rd year. I understand not doing it publicly but I needed a sign, anything, to know that, yeah, we know it is not all rosy and he is on a short leash. I met privately with several high level staff members, talked to anyone in the department at the time, and all held the party line, not even so much as a wink. I am impressed with their loyalty to the command hierarchy, but, it did not help their cause with me. And the back channel communications I was getting is that Hewitt was TOCs buddy, and no way he was going to get rid of him under his watch. So, I drew a line, and withdrew my support until he was gone.

Fast forward to last year, I requested season tickets. I even attended the seat upgrade event and spoke to several people in the Ticket office and Patriot Club. Since the seats I had been in previously were no longer available, and nothing decent was available, especially for the amount of money was looking to donate, I was told they would let me know what was available when renewals were done. I never heard back...

I was willing to have a fresh start, ignore the decisions by Brad when he first started (when he could have made significant changes without much push back). But this latest snafu was under Brad's watch, and after he had been there over a year. This made me pause and become concerned that maybe little had changed other than a coach (granted I think that was a good choice). All I was asking was to be provided information to help me be sure I was seeing a new AD and not what it was under TOC. The follow through just never happened.

You can doubt what I say or that I have the resources to make a large donation all you want. The issue with the season tickets was documented and acknowledged. If I really had a vendetta, I could have pushed for action, but I let it be handled at a lower level (assuming it got handled). As for the resources, I am not going to post my financial statement online. I have a track record of making decent sized donations to Mason. I promise you I was planning to make it. The donation I have stated I was planning to make isn't too far fetched based on my giving history. If you saw the donations I have made and the things I have bought recently, it far exceeds what I have stated I was going to give to Mason.

Now, don't take all this incorrectly. I think Brad is a huge improvement over the former AD, but that is a very low bar to clear. I think there is significant room for improvement. My experience doesn't point to him making this miraculous turn around that some in this thread seam to indicate. Maybe has happened and I am the one exception, that would be great, tragic, but great. Based on what I have heard, though, I am pretty sure I am not the only one seeing these types of issues.

 

[MasonSAE4]

Even though you are making your first ever post today, and I find your line of questioning a little under informed, I'll play along. You seemed to have misread a large portion of what I wrote. I did not say that I requested they stop reaching out to me. It was in the context of one of three possible conclusions I can come to based on my experience. One conclusion I could have come to is that they don't want my support. I was arguing against that by pointing out that they reach back out on occasion (long after they have dropped the ball on the previous time they reached out). I honestly don't know where the issue is. I consider many of the people in the department my friends (that I only speak to occasionally). That is what makes my experience all the more perplexing to me.

I have been writing about things that have transpired over years, so, no I have not attended any events in the last 6 months because that is after this had all transpired and I had already withdrawn from participating in anything related to Mason. That makes the fact that he did not reach out to me, after I was told he would, all the more weird. It is moot at this point, though.

If had a vendetta for someone in particular, I would have named individual names in the department other than just Brad. I don't know Brad and have only met him for a total of about 5 seconds at a baseball picnic so I don't know him enough to hold a vendetta against him, but, I do hold him accountable for the actions/lack of actions of the department as a whole, especially if there are repeated issues.

If you want the history, you can read much of it by going through my posts on here and previous incarnations of the site over the last 15 years or so. I don't mention any names other than at the top level, so some incidents that are with specific individuals might be left out, but you should get the gist.

I am assuming you are relatively new on here based on the content of your reply, so, to give you some quick background on myself. I have a pretty long history with the program, many on here have been much longer, but, mine relatively long. There was an 11 year stretch in which I was, arguably, the most rabid Mason fan, not missing a single home game or post season game in that stretch. I even went to about half of the road games during that stretch as well. I was also one of the most vocal supporters of just about anything Mason, to the point that man on here referred to me as Kool-Aid drinker.

Things went south when no one in the AD would admit there was a problem with Hewitt towards the end of his 3rd year. I understand not doing it publicly but I needed a sign, anything, to know that, yeah, we know it is not all rosy and he is on a short leash. I met privately with several high level staff members, talked to anyone in the department at the time, and all held the party line, not even so much as a wink. I am impressed with their loyalty to the command hierarchy, but, it did not help their cause with me. And the back channel communications I was getting is that Hewitt was TOCs buddy, and no way he was going to get rid of him under his watch. So, I drew a line, and withdrew my support until he was gone.

Fast forward to last year, I requested season tickets. I even attended the seat upgrade event and spoke to several people in the Ticket office and Patriot Club. Since the seats I had been in previously were no longer available, and nothing decent was available, especially for the amount of money was looking to donate, I was told they would let me know what was available when renewals were done. I never heard back...

I was willing to have a fresh start, ignore the decisions by Brad when he first started (when he could have made significant changes without much push back). But this latest snafu was under Brad's watch, and after he had been there over a year. This made me pause and become concerned that maybe little had changed other than a coach (granted I think that was a good choice). All I was asking was to be provided information to help me be sure I was seeing a new AD and not what it was under TOC. The follow through just never happened.

You can doubt what I say or that I have the resources to make a large donation all you want. The issue with the season tickets was documented and acknowledged. If I really had a vendetta, I could have pushed for action, but I let it be handled at a lower level (assuming it got handled). As for the resources, I am not going to post my financial statement online. I have a track record of making decent sized donations to Mason. I promise you I was planning to make it. The donation I have stated I was planning to make isn't too far fetched based on my giving history. If you saw the donations I have made and the things I have bought recently, it far exceeds what I have stated I was going to give to Mason.

Now, don't take all this incorrectly. I think Brad is a huge improvement over the former AD, but that is a very low bar to clear. I think there is significant room for improvement. My experience doesn't point to him making this miraculous turn around that some in this thread seam to indicate. Maybe has happened and I am the one exception, that would be great, tragic, but great. Based on what I have heard, though, I am pretty sure I am not the only one seeing these types of issues.

Do you think Edwards knows? From your description it sounds as though the people below him are likely the issue. Seems like a massive disconnect somewhere. Neither of you seems to know each other so grudges on either side seem weird.

I have a hard time believing he would be so mad at someone as to turn down a large donation, especially as getting this facility built is a large part of the perception of how good a job he's doing. He seems semi-active on Twitter; might be a good idea to reach out there. Even if you are still in the mindset that you don't want to donate I'm sure he'd appreciate knowing his staff is dropping the ball on large donations.

 

[Mason2005]

My donation is in no way large but I asked to look at seat options earlier this year and was told they'd reach back to me after they receive back ticket renews. A month goes by and they did reach back to me. No ball dropped on that one.

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[Pablo]

Brian,

I may be wrong, but it's my sense that the total dollar value of donations to the Patriot Club is increasing, while the total number of donors is declining. If so, then Brad Edwards' staff should be much more responsive to alums like you.

As for me, TOC and I had some nice discussions. I seriously doubt that I will ever get the opportunity to do the same with Edwards.

 

[JimP]

My post didn't a mention transfers. So..... The purpose of my post was to say lets stop giving excuses for the lack of success. I don't think a rebuild takes 4 years. I mentioned several programs who were able to rebuild their program in one year. I know that's not the norm, but I was hoping to see more progress then I do now. We lost to a CAA team. We were down at the half to a D3 program.

Yes Hewitt drove the program into the ground. But he was a pretty good recruiter. He left Paulsen some talent. Jenkins, Moore. Dare I say Thompson, I know this post will get destroyed because of the Thompson comment.

But since you brought up transfers I will admit I think a transfer student could of speeded up the rebuilding process. A JUCO transfer could of filled in gap (shooting) while we wait for our 4 year scholarship players to develop. We have 7 guards on our roster! I know its to early to tell how they will all pan out, but lets hope one of them can become a pure shooter soon!

I don't understand getting so upset about the loss to Towson. It is just the way college basketball is today - a team from a lesser conference beating a team from a better conference just isn't that rare anymore. Of all fans - George Mason fans should realize this.

Yeah - it's just one poll, but the site that ranks the top 144 teams at the beginning of the year had Towson at #73. There were only 5 A-10 teams ranked higher. They'll likely finish top 3 CAA and would've been somewhere between 5th and 9th if in the A-10 this year. On another note - I think they are in the same boat as Mason. They are in a big market so it's tough for them to get recognition or a following. I was disappointed but not surprised by the Towson loss. If Mason loses to Mount St. Mary's tonight though - that will be worth getting upset over.

 

[GSII]

If Mason loses to Mount St. Mary's tonight though - that will be worth getting upset over.

Dont get upset. This is gonna take a half a decade.

 

[Falco]

when can we say the extension was a bad idea? I'm still all for trusting in the process but I still don't understan the extension until he proves himself in the a-10

 

[Patriotsince81]

when can we say the extension was a bad idea? I'm still all for trusting in the process but I still don't understan the extension until he proves himself in the a-10

Now. I will happily eat my words if proven wrong. Extremely doubtful at this point.

 

[Mason2005]

When would you suggest to give up on the Paulsen experiment? Question goes out to anyone. We did 4 with Hewitt, perhaps only 2 with Paulsen to avg 3.... How much longer can our program endure bad seasons, after this one it's 6 failed post season years. When is the point of no return of continued failure.

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[Falco]

When would you suggest to give up on the Paulsen experiment? Question goes out to anyone. We did 4 with Hewitt, perhaps only 2 with Paulsen to avg 3.... How much longer can our program endure bad seasons, after this one it's 6 failed post season years. When is the point of no return of continued failure.

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I say 3 years. Thats why I wouldn't have given him an extension!

 

[Mason2005]

I say 3 years. Thats why I wouldn't have given him an extension!

I'm starting to feel more depression for our program. I even thought for a sec that if Paulsen doesn't show any progression by mid season this year we have to drop him. So far the rotations make absolutely no sense. If he doesn't directly answer the obvious questions on the post game interview it brings up a lot of red flags. Perhaps he can't handle the conference upgrade. Can we endure 7 bad seasons.

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[GMU_DCU]

$25 tickets for a team that can't beat MSM, Towson and struggled for awhile against D III competition. I see attendance taking a big hit this year.

 

[gmubrian]

Do you think Edwards knows? From your description it sounds as though the people below him are likely the issue. Seems like a massive disconnect somewhere. Neither of you seems to know each other so grudges on either side seem weird.

I have a hard time believing he would be so mad at someone as to turn down a large donation, especially as getting this facility built is a large part of the perception of how good a job he's doing. He seems semi-active on Twitter; might be a good idea to reach out there. Even if you are still in the mindset that you don't want to donate I'm sure he'd appreciate knowing his staff is dropping the ball on large donations.

MasonSAE4-Years ago, I would have had the passion to do this. At this point, sadly, I don't have the level of care for the program to do that. I don't know where the disconnect is. Hopefully it only happened to me [but reading Pablo's post, maybe not...]. If is just me, it is moot at this point. If it is not just me, and he doesn't know yet, it is on him, or if he does know and hasn't corrected the problem, it is on him, and even worse...

 

[gmubrian]

Brian,

I may be wrong, but it's my sense that the total dollar value of donations to the Patriot Club is increasing, while the total number of donors is declining. If so, then Brad Edwards' staff should be much more responsive to alums like you.

As for me, TOC and I had some nice discussions. I seriously doubt that I will ever get the opportunity to do the same with Edwards.

Pablo-I hear you. I had many discussions with TOC and I have much respect for him, I just disagree with his approach to running an AD. He and I even discussed that. He said to me on two different occasions that he did not really like big donors as he then felt the program was beholden to them. So, I complied. That is the reason I never made a REALLY big donation while he was AD. I was hopeful for a big change on that front, hopefully it will still happen.

That is a little disappointing to hear your comment on Edwards. Maybe he is only focusing on the super rich prospects. If so, I hope one or more of them pans out if the total number of donors are dropping. If it doesn't land one of those and he alienates the existing base, that could be ugly for the program. I am hopeful, though, that maybe one of those has already been lined up or is near as part of the Faster/Farther campaign.

 

[gmujim92]

I'm starting to feel more depression for our program. I even thought for a sec that if Paulsen doesn't show any progression by mid season this year we have to drop him. So far the rotations make absolutely no sense. If he doesn't directly answer the obvious questions on the post game interview it brings up a lot of red flags. Perhaps he can't handle the conference upgrade. Can we endure 7 bad seasons.

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If you gave half a shit about our program, you wouldn't post this drivel on our own board.

You are not helping. At all.

 

[Mason2005]

If you gave half a shit about our program, you wouldn't post this drivel in the MFing recruiting thread.

You are not helping. At all.

This is a recruiting thread? Two years of Brad Edwards is a recruiting thread?

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[gmujim92]

This is a recruiting thread? Two years of Brad Edwards is a recruiting thread?

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My bad on that, but you still aren't helping. Neither is anyone who suggests the coach should be replaced three games into the second year of a long rebuilding project.

 

[Mason2005]

My bad on that, but you still aren't helping. Neither is anyone who suggests the coach should be replaced three games into the second year of a long rebuilding project.

I'm just very sad right now at the thought of a long rebuild. We are 6 years in already.

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